“Green Lantern” fails to light up big screen

DC’s high hopes to wow audiences with another superhero movie said to rival “Star Wars” falls flat due to a chaotic script and mediocre effects.

In “Green Lantern,” Ryan Reynolds plays Hal Jordan, an irresponsible test pilot who is the first human to be given a power ring, making him a member of the Green Lantern Corps, an intergalactic police force. He is transported to headquarters on the planet Oa to meet the Guardians and receive brief training from other Green Lanterns. The movie focuses on his relationship with fellow pilot Carol Ferris played by Blake Lively and defeating the villains, Hector Hammond and Parallax.

Reynolds is perfection as the cocky Hal Jordon and his sarcasm provides the film with many humorous moments. Lively commands the screen as Carol Ferris with her dominant nature.

Considering that the script was overworked, the actors do a phenomenal job with what they were given. Peter Sarsgaard, as Hector Hammond and Mark Strong as Senestro, successfully perform their roles, but audiences might still wish to know more about their characters. As far as other secondary characters go, they are not given enough screen time to evaluate.

For an origin story, the writers placed too many aspects of the comic book into a single film. While most audiences are not familiar with the Green Lantern as a superhero, the movie would have made more sense if they focused on developing secondary characters, such as the Green Lantern Corps, or on only one of the two villains, who both have elaborate backstories. By stuffing too much information into a less-than-two- hour movie, the plot became hard to follow and many scenes, like the final battle between Hal Jordan and Parallax, did not live up to their full potential.

Special effects are used extensively during the film to create the Green Lantern costume, and the characters from the Green Lantern Corps. Unfortunately, like the rest of the film, they are less than impressive. The suit looks decent in some scenes and fake in others, while many characters, such as the Guardians, resemble cartoons. The biggest success was character Tomar-Re, who viewers rarely get to see due to his limited screen time.

Overall, “Green Lantern” is an entertaining film, but is not memorable in any way. There was simply too much information and not enough time. However, looking at various plots from the comics, the writers have the potential to create an impressive franchise. A short clip mid-credits sets up the movie for a sequel, which will hopefully live up to the hype that “Green Lantern” has been given. Just as Hal Jordan said, “no matter how bad things get, something good is out there, just over the horizon…”